Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said there is “good news” regarding the restoration process underway at Richmond’s water treatment facility.
On Monday evening, city officials issued a boil water advisory for residents. Officials said the action was due to a winter storm-related power outage at the water treatment plant. The power outage reportedly caused a pump failure, which led to flooding and damage to equipment.
Avula said in a news release this morning that the boil water advisory remains in effect. However, two pumps are now actively running and filling a tank, meaning there’s been progress in getting city water service restored.
“I’ve spent the last five hours at the water plant with our teams as they make steady progress on restoring water services to our city. I’m hopeful that we’ll have more to share soon, and I appreciate your continued patience,” Avula said.
He added that water pressure could be restored by this afternoon. As for when city residents will see the boil water advisory lifted, Avula gave an estimate of Wednesday.
“I said yesterday that that'll be 24 to 48 hours,” Avula said. “Given the progress over the course of the evening, that's going to look more like 48 hours.”
Richmond residents are urged to continue to conserve water to help with the effort to rebuild capacity at the city’s reservoir.
Officials recommend the following for safe water use during this issue:
• Do not drink tap water.
• Do not drink from water fountains in parks or public or private buildings that receive water from the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities.
• Do not use ice made from water today. Discard the ice and sanitize the ice machine and/or ice trays. This also applies to water and ice dispensed directly from a refrigerator.
• Do not use tap water to make drinks, juices, or fountain soft drinks.
• Do not wash your fruits and vegetables with tap water – use boiled or bottled water.
• Do not brush your teeth with tap water – use boiled or bottled water.
• Do not cook with tap water unless your food will be boiled vigorously for three minutes.